About Play Therapy

The Importance Of Play Therapy

Rita Vatcher is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Registered Play Therapist in Natick and Framingham, Massachusetts. Play therapy is a vitally important tool to be used in the healthy development of many children.

What is Play Therapy?

"Simply speaking, play therapy is based upon the fact that play is the child’s natural medium of self-expression. It is an opportunity which is given to the child to play out his feelings and problems just as in certain types of adult therapy an individual may talk out his difficulties." - Virginia Axline

You and your child are extremely important to us and we are here to serve you. Play therapy is a powerful tool for addressing cognitive, behavioral, and emotional challenges. Licensed professionals use play therapeutically to help children process their experiences and develop more effective strategies for managing their worlds.

Registered Play Therapists are licensed professionals who are credentialed by the International Association of Play Therapy. They have obtained considerable education, training, and supervised experience in the field of play therapy.

Research has shown play therapy is an effective mental health approach, regardless of age, gender, or the nature of the problem, and works best when a parent, family member, or caretaker is actively involved in the treatment process.

Learn More About the Association for Play Therapy Here

The Play Therapy Process

You should know that the process of play therapy takes time and no one can predict exactly how long it may take for a child to go through the stages of his or her own therapy. It could be six months to a year or longer depending on the child, family, or situation. The stages, however, are similar for each child:

As a Caretaker you are an important part of the process and usually meet with the therapist once a month for an hour to discuss the child’s progress and anything in his or her life that could impact the therapy sessions. Your input is important.